1. Field of the Invention
The inventions relates to electro-optic conversion modules, and particularly to the use of fiducial markings on such printed circuit board electrical connectors used in circuit boards for verification of printing alignment, and fabrication accuracy and quality control.
2. Description of the Related Art
Optical data transmission networks provide high capacity signal transmission without many of the physical limitations of electrical cables. Fiber-optic transceivers used in such networks convert electrical signals into optical signals and vice versa at the interface of a fiber-optic cable and an electronic network unit, such as a computer or communications system.
The typical hardware design of some transceivers provides the use of a printed circuit board that terminate on one side with a cut out pin edge or a contact array forming a multi-pin electrical connector, which may be implemented on one or both sides of the board. With such a contact array, the circuit boards can be directly plugged into a mating receptacle on the back end of the host computer. The cut out connector may also be elongated, and sized to be able to extend through open slots in the back face of the computer chassis so that connection may be made to a receptacle mounted inside the chassis on a mother board of the computer.
To extend the application of the fiber optic transceiver for mass-produced, low-cost computer and communications devices, it is desirable for the individual components to be economical to fabricate, and thus the electrical connector to be simple and reliable at the same time. A number of industry standards have been defined to integrate some of these electrical connector design considerations into opto-electronic transceiver modules. For example, the XENPAK standard (see www.xenpak) describes an advantageous opto-electronic transceiver module package with a cut out printed circuit board electrical connector.
Like any lithographically printed circuit board, mask alignment and routing introduce variations from board to board that present issues of reliability and quality control, especially for high density pin configuration.
Prior to the present invention, there has not been a reliable process to ensure quality control in parallel optical module with a cut-out printed pin array electrical connector. Thus, it is desired to have a board design for the pin out making the electrical connection which can be easily checked to determine if it meets specification.
The novel features and characteristics of the invention are set forth in the appended claims. The invention itself, however, as well as other features and advantages thereof, will be best understood by reference to a detailed description of a specific embodiment, when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.